Bringing Highmark and UPMC to the negotiating table -- and keeping them there -- was a difficult, demanding task.

Leaders with the two Pennsylvania health-care giants expressed a lot of animosity toward each other when they met in late June with state officials to hammer out a transition agreement, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

"I got a call around 11:15 one night and was told the talks were breaking down without an agreement," Kane said Tuesday during a visit to the Erie Times-News. "I said, 'Do what you have to do to get them back to the table, even if it's just for an hour.'"

UPMC and Highmark eventually resumed their talks and were able to reach an agreement that outlines what will happen Jan. 1 when UPMC's provider agreement with Highmark expires.

The new five-year agreement allows Highmark members access to UPMC Hamot and other "rural" UPMC hospitals, while placing most Pittsburgh-based UPMC hospitals out of Highmark's provider network. It also continues to treat Highmark members on an in-network basis at all UPMC hospitals as long as the patient and his or her doctor deem it necessary.

Educating the public and medical professionals is one way to slow the rate of drug abuse, another is greater enforcement.

Her office's Mobile Streets Crimes Unit is in its second deployment. Kane wouldn't say where the unit is, but said its first deployment to Hazleton made an impact by taking more than 30,000 bags of illegal drugs off the street.

"We place 12 agents in the area and team them with local police," Kane said. "They make traffic stops, which can turn into good intelligence for us to determine where the drug supply is coming from."

DAVID BRUCE can be reached at 870-1736 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNbruce.